Bat At Denver Zoo Tests Positive For Rabies

Credit: AP

By KKTV/AP&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Fri 7:52 AM, Aug 08, 2014

A wild bat in the primate exhibit at the Denver Zoo has tested positive for rabies.

A zoo staffer noticed the bat behaving strangely and captured it. After being examined at the zoo's veterinary hospital, sister station KCNC says the bat was humanely euthanized, then sent to to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for rabies testing.

The zoo does not believe that any visitors had contact with the bat, but officials say that people who were at the zoo Aug. 2 should call health officials if they did see or touch the bat.

KCNC says that 10 people were interviewed that were known to have been in close proximity to the bat, but the zoo has not found anyone who was bitten.

The zoo says its animals are routinely vaccinated for rabies, and that there is no concern that any of the zoo animals were infected.

Rabies is caused by a virus transmitted by the bite of an infected animal. Bat bites may not be visible, so anyone who has had contact with a bat should be evaluated for exposure.

The bat did not belong to the zoo; it was a type that is native to Colorado and may have flown to the zoo from a nearby park or neighborhood.

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